Musee du quai Branly

 

This was my second visit to Paris this year, and this time the main reason for the visit was to see and enjoy the new museum in Paris, the Musee du quai Branly. This time I stayed at one of the Kyriad chain hotels. It was comfortable, although not spectacular. But the big surprise on my outward journey was the quite pleasant flight from London Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle airport.

Paris has a new museum.  OK, it is a few years old, but its presence is still relatively recent. It is dedicated to the art of Africa, Oceania and Pre-Columbian America. The idea of showing art from these areas is not totally new. Most museums across the world have staged exhibition like these before. What is new is the concept to house these exhibits in a totally new museum all on its own, generating its own ambience and importance. And how well it works. It is definitely worth taking a trip to the city to see. The combination of excellent architecture, ansd imaginative staging, oth combine to make this museum a winner.

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I arrived expecting easy access. But I was wrong for there were crowds everywhere. Yet it was rather entertaining to see visitors ready to give a new museum support. There were two exhibition on display.  One was, as expected , the exhibits of the permanent collection.  The other was a temporary exhibition which, using history, described and displayed artifacts which related to early contact between Europeans, and Africa and Asia.

Altogether I spent almost four hours there, with a break in between for lunch.  First a slow walk, and very close scrutiny of the permanent exhibition.  It was extraordinary both in content and presentation.  It also allowed very close inspection of exhibits, both with and without glass.  Also impressive was the explanation, and support visuals, which made it very easy to come to terms with objects being presented.

Then, a quicker paced stroll through the temporary exhibition.  The earliest visuals covered European contact with Afro-Asian culture, but later the exhibition presented much more art objects which the visitors encountered.  Deliberately quite a mixture, but definitely quite fascinating.  By  the end, I knew I would need another visit to appreciate it all.
The photo attached should give a hint what to expect. More be found elsewhere. Officially visitors were not allowed to take photos, but I did manage to sneak a few.  Please plan your visit, and I suggest soon.